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I want to thank Ross Talbott for demonstrating the conservative mindset in his Nov. 27 column. Blame taxes and the government for your misery. Yes, taxes do add to the cost of goods. But they also do a lot of good and they actually decrease prices and add stability to the markets.

If Mr. Talbott thinks that he or business in general gets nothing in return from his taxes, then he needs to look around. How do the goods get to market, on public or private roads?

I know Mr. Talbott owns a business. Who does he call if there is a burglar in his business, private security or the police? Even if his answer is private security, they just call the police after they arrive.

What about a fire? Does Mr. Talbott have a private firefighting company? I think not. One hundred years ago it was that way, with low taxes and few services. Would Mr. Talbott like to return to a system of competitive private fire companies that sabotage each other and start fires when funds are low? That is the alternative to paying taxes.

Since Mr. Talbott is so conservative, I am sure he is pro-military. Other than borrowing from China, how is that paid for?

He says, "Raise the taxes on oil companies and you pay more for fuel." If we cut the taxes on oil companies, then we would still pay more at the pump. Exxon-Mobile hasn't paid corporate taxes in years, yet gas is still $4 a gallon.

What is squeezing Americans is low wages. When we produced what we consumed, America paid its workers well. Now, Wal-Mart, our largest employer, pays its employees an average of $8.18 an hour to stock the shelves with Chinese-made junk.

In 1979, when I was in middle school, the coal mine started at $17 an hour. Nowadays, if you want to work for my employer, you must be educated and you will start at $17 an hour. Mr. Talbott can't blame it all on taxes.

Dan Bokenko

Glenwood Springs

River Bridge Regional Center greatly appreciates the article the Post Independent published about the Center on Nov. 25. I think it is important (as a member of the board of directors of River Bridge) that the public understand that River Bridge does more than the article described, as follows:

RBRC staff work in prevention of child abuse - education of community members, school staff, nonprofits, parents, etc.

For schools - aimed at helping identify and reporting abuse.

For parents - what they can do within their own family to help protect their child from being abused, and from being a "target."

The staff, and Multi-Disciplinary Team of River Bridge, also provide numerous community outreach and education activities designed to improve the treatment and enhance the prevention of child abuse. These topics include mental health treatment strategies specific to survivors of trauma, mandatory reporter trainings, the myths and facts of child abuse, Interviewing protocol trainings and peer review, workshops on the dynamics of child abuse for community members and school personnel, the Child Advocacy Center model and process for law enforcement, and tips for parents to prevent child sexual abuse.

We appreciate the reader's attention to these items in regards to the mission of River Bridge.